Wikipedia:Online Ambassadors/Apply/Theopolisme

The following discussion is preserved as an archive of a successful Online Ambassador application.

Theopolisme

Theopolisme (talk · contribs)

Why do you want to be a Wikipedia Ambassador?
During my time on Wikipedia, I've seen...quite a bit. The CVUA. The Teahouse. ACC. Article feedback. New pages...and more. And I think I can help. Communicating with and teaching people is one of my real-life passions, and bringing it on-wiki seems like a natural way for me to extend my enjoyment of Wikipedia.
In three sentences or less, summarize your involvement with Wikimedia projects.
On enwiki, I do a lot of New Pages Patrolling, AFDing, etc. I also was an administrator on Wikidata for several months, during which I expanded documentation and backend materials, as well as helped new Wikidatians (??—we never figured out what we were going to call ourselves, as you can see) learn the ropes of that exciting new project.
Please indicate a few articles to which you have made significant content contributions. (e.g. DYK, GA, FA, major revisions/expansions/copyedits).
User:Theopolisme/creations can answer this better than I can; while not as much a "content"-y person as a behind-the-scenes-person, I still consider myself well-versed in that ar ea.
How have you been involved with welcoming and helping new users on Wikipedia?
I'm a (less active than I like nowadays, but nonetheless) member of the ACC, and as such am often the first contact new editors have with a "real live Wikipedian." My first fifty edits interestingly enough contained a bunch of welcoming as well: why, I have no idea now...but I think it's rather revealing. After that, I also answered new users' questions at the Feedback dashboard and through Article feedback. I also am a host/maître d' at the Teahouse, watchlist the Help desk, answer questions on IRC (#wikipedia-en-help ^connect), etc.
What do you see as the most important ways we could welcome newcomers or help new users become active contributors?
It's simple, really: be real. Don't be a template-spitting machine; don't be an ANI-addict. Just be a person. No police officer catches you speeding and plays a recorded message informing you of your sin. Wikipedia shouldn't be that way, either.
Have you had major conflicts with other editors? Blocks or bans? Involvement in arbitration? Feel free to offer context, if necessary.
I have a clean block log and haven't been in any *major conflicts* (i.e., ones that resulted in Mediation/3O/DRN/etc.) I feel quite ready to handle them, though: I'm a levelheaded person and, if things seem to be getting out of hand, am always ready to phone a friend.
How often do you edit Wikipedia and check in on ongoing discussions? Will you be available regularly for at least two hours per week, in your role as a mentor?
I typically check Wikipedia at least twice a day (morning and nights CST) on weekdays, and much more obsessively over the weekend: two hours is not at all a roadblock.
How would you make sure your students were not violating copyright laws?
Google is your friend! As far as text goes, the tried and true "copy a block of text, search, repeat" method hasn't failed me yet. As a last resort, Earwig also has an excellent tool, copyvios, which crawls the web for potential violations. However, since it isn't free for the Foundation (various API search costs/etc—a moot point due to all their other costs, but bear with me...it's a phobia of mine), I try not to use the tool unless absolutely necessary. Images are a bit of a different story: TinEye is typically able to help me track down the truth, though.
If one of your students had an issue with copyright violation how would resolve it?
Talking. Most often, the violation is an honest mistake, and a light slap is all that is needed to make sure it won't happen again. If that isn't effective, or I'm worried that the student doesn't quite understand, I wouldn't hesitate to contact their instructor/campus ambassador.
In your _own_ words describe what copyright violation is.
Let's keep this simple and concise: copyright violation is the use or distribution of another's work without permission. We can of course delve deeper and deeper and wikideeper, but at its heart, copyright violation is remarkable simple...agh, who am I kidding. While the mechanics of this complicated sport can fill books, my humble take: it's really an ethics thing.
What else should we know about you that is relevant to being a Wikipedia Ambassador?
I'm a student and musician, so for a few times each year (January, May, November--although they vary), I'll be frantically preparing for various auditions, which sometimes inhibits my ability to respond s quickly as I'd like (although I still manage to logon at least once a day).

Endorsements

(Two endorsements are needed for online ambassador approval.)

Endorse - Great user to work with. -- Cheers, Riley 07:33, 27 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]
YES --Tito Dutta (talk) 09:57, 27 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]